Continuing my good-natured competition with ASp to start the most word-related threads this week. Elizabeth 0, Ken 3. Come on, gal!

A rhyme of a single stressed syllable [as stress/dress] is called a masculine rhyme; a rhyme of two or more syllables, with all but the first unstressed [as heather/feather] is called a feminine rhyme.

But why are gender words used to distinguish the two types? How did this teminoloy evolve? Perhaps (he said, semi-facetiously) on the theory that the feminine version is the more complex?

Do you know, if I've ever heard that, I can't recall it, but I can't help thinking that it's probably because men can only do one thing at a time, whereas we ladies are competent at handling complicated multi-tasking...

On the other hand:

The types of rhyme are classified according to two schemes: (1) the position of the rhymes in the line, and (2) the number of syllables involved.
    On the basis of position, we have: (1) end rhyme, much the most common type, which occurs at the end of the line; (2) internal rhyme, which occurs at some place after the beginning and before the end of the line; (3) beginning rhyme, which occurs in the first syllable (or syllables). On the basis of the number of syllables presenting similarity of sound, we have: (1) masculine rhyme, in which the correspondence of sound is restricted to the final accented syllable as in "fan" and "ran." This type of rhyme is generally more forcible, more vigorous than those following; (2) feminine rhyme, in which the rhyming stressed syllable is followed by an undifferentiated unstressed syllable exactly matching another such unstressed syllable in the other rhyme words (note that feminine rhyme, as between "fountain" and "mountain," differs considerably from compound rhyme, as between "childhood" and wildwood," in which there is rhyme between both pairs of components). Double rhyme is another name for feminine rhyme; (3) triple rhyme, in which the rhyming stressed syllable is followed by two undifferentiated unstressed syllables, as in "glorious" and "victorious." Triple rhyme...is usually reserved for humourous, satirical verse... (from Holman, C. Hugh and William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature. 6th edition. NY: MacMillan, 1992).

Stress--on the downbeat--a fist on the counter or in the face--a boot on the road or in your side--masculine--think: Bob, Dick, Pete, Paul, Max and Ken. Nothing personal...I'm just playing around here with stereotypes...

Unstressed included after the down (always upbeat these femmes, since I'm playing with stereotypes)--a hand to the lips on the downbeat and the kiss blown on the up--something sweet now blowing in the wind--feminine--think: Linda, Wanda, Rhonda, Rhona, Brenda, and so on, plus Jackie!--just blow a kiss with each one.

Beat regards,
WW

Silly me - I never thought about it in English. In French, I always assumed that the feminine rhymes were thus called because the extended rhyme often came from the addition of a feminine ending. (Man, this is being hard for me to articulate, but I know what I mean.)
example: dur/pur -- masculine words, single syllable
dure/pure - feminine words, 2 syllables (pronounced as such in poetry, although not necessarily pronounced as such in prose or in speech)- and both syllables are part of the rhyme

but I could easily be waaaaaaaaaaaaay off base